2004-11-08 04:00:00 PDT Charlotte , N.C. -- Kerry Collins' well-documented relationship with the Panthers and the city of Charlotte left him an open target Sunday in his first appearance here since 1998. The question was, with 11 interceptions to his credit, a five- game losing streak as a Raiders starter and five more dating back to 2003 with the Giants, how would Collins respond?

Like a winner, as it turned out.

The Raiders had 2 minutes, 19 seconds to break a 24-24 tie and Collins --

who left Carolina six seasons ago amid charges of racism and his announcement he was giving up his starting job -- engineered the game- winning drive when he had to.

He rolled right and threw a 19-yard completion to wide receiver Ronald Curry, then followed it with a 12-yard pass to Jerry Porter.

Though a 38-yard pass interference call on Panthers nickel corner Dante Wesley intimately set up Sebastian Janikowski's game-winning field goal, Collins nonetheless walked away from Carolina with his pride intact this time.

"It's a little redemptive," said Collins, who returned to Charlotte in 1998 as a member of the Saints, only to be arrested and later convicted of DUI after staying behind to party with former Panthers teammate Wesley Walls and other friends. "Obviously I didn't leave here under the best circumstances. If there is one thing I feel I've done in my career, is I've kept plugging away.

Kerry Collins, Raiders quarterback and former Panther, raises his arms in the air as the Raiders score a second touchdown in the 2nd quarter for a 16-7 lead. The Oakland Raiders win over the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Deanne Fitzmaurice / The Chronicle less

Kerry Collins, Raiders quarterback and former Panther, raises his arms in the air as the Raiders score a second touchdown in the 2nd quarter for a 16-7 lead. The Oakland Raiders win over the Carolina Panthers ... more

Photo: Deanne Fitzmaurice

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Kerry Collins, Raiders quarterback and former Panther, raises his arms in the air as the Raiders score a second touchdown in the 2nd quarter for a 16-7 lead. The Oakland Raiders win over the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Deanne Fitzmaurice / The Chronicle less

Kerry Collins, Raiders quarterback and former Panther, raises his arms in the air as the Raiders score a second touchdown in the 2nd quarter for a 16-7 lead. The Oakland Raiders win over the Carolina Panthers ... more

"I kept trying and kept playing and these opportunities come up from time to time, and I was able to do things to help us win the ballgame, and that feels good."

Collins' demeanor in the huddle during that drive, Porter said, set the tone for how his teammates responded.

"He asserted himself this week and made a conscious effort to be more vocal," Porter said of Collins. "And things worked out well."

Curry shines: Ronald Curry was a high school phenom from Hampton, Va., the best prep quarterback in the country in 1998 who broke hearts in his home state by choosing to sign with the University of North Carolina.

He never really became the star everyone thought he'd be, but Curry -- the Raiders' seventh-round pick in 2002 -- made his family and his Tar Heels fans proud Sunday, catching 4 passes for 63 yards to lead the Raiders in a badly needed victory.

"I had to buy 47 tickets," said Curry, who made sure his mother, Deborah -- an avowed airplane-hater -- got to Charlotte safely following the five- hour drive from Hampton. "There were a lot of folks here for me. I hope I made 'em happy."

There was a lot of build-up to Curry's return to North Carolina, but the third-year quarterback-turned-receiver reminded everyone where his true roots lie.

"I'm from Virginia, so it's not really home," he said. "I played four years at Carolina and it was a good four years of my life."

Cooper misses everyone: Former Panthers special-teams standout Jarrod Cooper, whom the Raiders signed Oct. 29 following his abrupt release by Carolina because of off-field problems, returned with a big game.

Playing in the dime defense, he posted three tackles, including a 17-yard sack of quarterback Jake Delhomme on one of his three blitzes.

"I have nothing but love for Carolina fans," said Cooper, who was let go Oct. 28 after his third run-in with the law -- an arrest for providing false information to a police officer. Cooper also had two DUI arrests during his four-year Panthers career. "Most of it (reaction of the crowd) was good. A couple of beer cans thrown -- just kidding. They know when I was here I gave it my best."

Cooper, a popular player with his Carolina teammates, admitted to having mixed emotions seeing them across the field.

Showtime sits: Following up on a promise a week earlier, Raiders coach Norv Turner made several personnel changes before and during Sunday's game. He started rookie tight end Courtney Anderson in place of Doug Jolley. But the big move came midway through the second quarter, when back-to-back poor plays by cornerback Phillip "Showtime" Buchanon caused Turner to pull him off the field and put Nnamdi Asomugha in the base defense.

When Buchanon bobbled a punt return and nearly muffed it, Turner then put Doug Gabriel in the game to field the next punt.

Sapp speaks, doesn't deliver: Defensive tackle Warren Sapp took his Raiders teammates to task during a taped interview with ESPN's Michael Irvin, saying that former Raiders coach Bill Callahan -- vilified in 2003 for calling his group, "The dumbest team in America" - may have had a point.

"You know what? At times we lend a little credence to it. I wasn't on the team a year go, so I can't really understand that," said Sapp, listing a number of penalties that helped land the Raiders at 3-6.

"We do some crazy stuff. I mean, we flat do some crazy stuff," he told ESPN. "I can't say the man was right, because I wasn't here. But we sure lend credence to it. Some silly stuff."

For the record, Sapp was invisible on the final stats sheet, failing to record even a half tackle.

Injuries mount: Anderson never finished the game, leaving the game following Tyrone Wheatley's 1-yard touchdown run with 1:09 remaining in the half with what he and Turner described as a strained left MCL.

"I've done it before to my knee. They're telling me four to six weeks," said Anderson, a rookie seventh-round pick from San Jose State. "It was great to start but I'm disappointed it ended the way it did."

Janikowski also sustained a groin injury, Turner said, which forced him to adjust his kickoff style late in the game.

Briefly: TE Teyo Johnson was active for the first time since the preseason and immediately made an impact, getting a special-teams tackle at the start of Carolina's opening drive ... QB Rich Gannon patrolled the Raiders' sidelines without any kind of neck brace, an indication that the quarterback is making good progress in his recovery from a neck fracture sustained September against Tampa Bay.